Jennifer Love Hewitt discusses ‘painful’ ageism in Hollywood

Jennifer Love Hewitt She recently discussed ageism in Hollywood, and talked about how difficult it is for fans to accept her as she’s getting older.

Despite public criticism, the actress is embracing her 40s, valuing self-acceptance and growth.

Jennifer Love Hewitt also expressed her concern about the negative comments affecting her children, especially her daughter.

In an interview with Fox News DigitalHewitt discussed how ageism affected her long career in Hollywood and how she is embracing her journey of self-love and aging with grace.

“I feel like fans choose this age that they like and that they think you are, and you’re never supposed to grow past that,” the 45-year-old actress shared. “For me, it was like me being in my 20s. People seem like it’s really hard for me to accept that I’m “I don’t look like that anymore.”

She continued: “It’s difficult because I think that as humans we want to evolve… we want to have lines on our faces, you know, our breasts are smaller from breastfeeding our babies, or you know, our butts are bigger.”

“Whatever it is, you just want to have the freedom to be who you are at that age. And it hurts sometimes when people reject you like verbally on Instagram or the internet because they have a hard time adjusting to it,” Hewitt added.

Hewitt, who shares children Autumn, 11, Atticus, 9, and Aidan, 3, with husband Brian Hallisay, expressed concerns about how the negative comments would affect her children.

“I have a daughter, and I’m sensitive about that because I don’t want my kids to read that stuff and feel that way…or worry about me getting hurt because of that…that’s hard to do sometimes,” she explained.

However, despite the public’s reaction to her aging, Hewitt said she feels at peace with her current situation in life.

“Age is age,” she noted. “I think women are really coming to terms with this… accepting themselves and being comfortable in their 40s is a beautiful thing. I love being in my 40s. I really do.”

While chatting with Fox News DigitalHewitt shared advice she would give herself when she was younger.

“I’ve always been anxious,” she said. “I was always worried… I enjoyed the work so much, and (I thought) it would be my last or… people would kick me out of Hollywood and not let me act anymore.”

She admitted that despite these fears, she had a good time and was present in the moment.

“But I wasted a lot of time worrying,” Hewitt continued before adding, “And I guess I would just tell her, like, ‘Look, this is going to work out. You’re going to start getting older, and they’re like, “We’re still letting you do things… It’s okay, you’re okay.”

In 2023, Hewitt responded to critics who called her “unrecognizable” after she shared a makeup-free photo with a filter on Instagram. Many commenters noted that she looked different.

“The photo ended up somewhere. And a bunch of people were saying, ‘Jennifer Love Hewitt is unrecognizable,'” the actress recalled on the radio show “Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum.”

The actress continued: “She is unrecognizable, so she resorted to filters because she does not want us to know how bad she looks now that she is in her forties.” “This is crazy,” I said. right?”

“I was watching,” Hewitt joked, but admitted she didn’t feel confident in herself at 23, 24, 25 years old.

“I felt watched. I felt like I had to be everything to everyone all the time,” the actress said New York Post. “I was called sexy before I knew what sexy was. I was 17 on the cover of Maxim magazine, and I had no idea why.”

Hewitt’s career began when she was young. She started out on “Kids Incorporated” before landing her breakout role as Sarah Reeves in “Party of Five” at the age of sixteen.

She became a household name after starring in the 1997 film I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel.

In addition to his successful television career, which includes roles on “Ghost Whisperer” and “The Client List,” Hewitt has also released four studio albums.